The Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition in Spring Branch is now the Houston Humane Society TWRC Wildlife Center.
The organizations announced recently that the wildlife coalition’s staff, programs and facilities have blended into the nonprofit animal shelter, which will expand into wildlife services.
Donors are encouraged to support the Houston Humane Society’s ongoing wildlife rehabilitation programs, including a fund drive to build a new wildlife center.
“We are excited to welcome TWRC to the Houston Humane Society family as our organizations share a dedication to animal well-being and the belief that all animals should be free from suffering and humanely treated,” said Gary Poon, society president and CEO.
Poon added that, as Greater Houston continues to expand, more wildlife is being displaced from its natural habitats, with encounters between wildlife and people becoming more commonplace. Part of Houston Humane Society’s mission with its expansion into wildlife services is to not only care for injured animals, but also to educate the Greater Houston community about environmental conservation, he said.
Mary Warwick, executive director at TWRC, said the center had already been collaborating with the humane society on various animal welfare initiatives, so “this is a natural extension of our work and shared mission.”
The wildlife center, at 10801 Hammerly Blvd., recently celebrated the expansion of its veterinary room into a full-service wildlife hospital — the Roslyn Even Wildlife Hospital, named after a longtime wildlife rehabilitator and former TWRC executive director.
Soon after celebrating the exciting addition, the staff and volunteers at TWRC mourned the loss of a long-time volunteer. Fifteen-year volunteer and former TWRC board member Jeannie Gresko passed away in August.
Her husband, Mark Gresko, established the Jeannie Gresko Memorial Fund to help the wildlife center find a larger, permanent home, which he said was Jeannie’s greatest wish. Jeannie’s family has donated an initial $100,000. If the wildlife center can match the $100,000 with additional donations within 12 months, the family will donate another $100,000.
TWRC began as a coalition of home-based wildlife rehabilitators after an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 1979. In 1992, TWRC opened Houston’s first wildlife shelter and education center in a renovated trailer behind Town and Country Mall.
Specializing in mammals such as squirrels and opossums, songbirds, doves and small raptors, the main goal of the care program is to rehabilitate these animals and return them to the wild.
Donate online here.
Houston Humane Society TWRC Wildlife Center
10801 Hammerly Blvd., #200
Houston, Texas 77043
713.468.TWRC (8972)
www.twrcwildlifecenter.org
— by Dorothy Puch Lillig
